Trouble logging in?If you can't remember your password or are having trouble logging in, you will have to reset your password. If you have trouble resetting your password (for example, if you lost access to the original email address), please do not start posting with a new account, as this is against the forum rules. If you create a temporary account, please contact us right away via Forum Support, and send us any information you can about your original account, such as the account name and any email address that may have been associated with it.

vaberella, for me if the show focuses on the relationship itself (transcendence of it) then it should be that way, without sudden shift of focus to romance which

Spoiler for which:

should come eventually

If the author doesn't plan to work upon building the romance then the show should not switch the focus to it as well and stay on what it does best - transcendent relationship of characters, instead of forcing a love drama as the 16 episodes were not really about romance at all, I do not think that forcing a sudden love eruption just to create a better climax is all that great idea.

This is the best slice of life/comedy/romane EVARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Cut Kitamura some slack. At least his human enough to act like a dick cause of a girl. That happens everytime/and everywhere (and their just high school kids). I mean all the characters here aren't black and white. They all have flaws yet are still so lovable. No series have ever had characters like these.

only 8 eps lift till the end i wonder is 8 eps i enough to decide or it will be a open ended series?? ( to make the viewer read the novel )

It could be possible, that JC Staff and the author of the novel, have some agreement, and IF (and only if) the novel series will be finish in the next book (the 10th) the author could gave a general lineaments of how the original story will end, and that way jc sftaff could make his finish of the series...

Meh... I was really looking forward to seeing Taiga's broken hearted expression, so it was a big let down for me when the moment came and they only showed her back... This is probably the main reason why I didn't like this episode. I just hate it when people expose their personal lives like that, it's embarrassing. Lame move from Kitamura, “coercing” her into dating him like that, wtf... Extra points for Sumire though, loved the way she handled the situation. Calm, collected, classy... Vey nice. It's shame we won't be seeing more of her.

If the author doesn't plan to work upon building the romance then the show should not switch the focus to it as well and stay on what it does best - transcendent relationship of characters, instead of forcing a love drama as the 16 episodes were not really about romance at all, I do not think that forcing a sudden love eruption just to create a better climax is all that great idea.

What? Is this another "we've been watching two entirely different series" moment? No, I'm not going to exhaustively list all the moments and clues, but I'm a bit sad you're not seeing what I see.

Hmm I thought it is becuz minorin knew about takasu's feelings and yet chooses to ignore it for his and taiga's own good. But yet through the anguish of kitamura, minorin saw that is not the case. Seeing that at least there was a happy ending, she thought she did the right thing till Ami questioned her.

Kaisos Erranon, I never said I am always right. If you cannot read my comments thoroughly then don't read them. I can do without your lame quoting of things I never said.

Vexx, the clues as I said is not from romantic perspective and not shed in a romantic light at all, they are all from the friendly/similar spirits perspective. I am sure that you would use such arguments as in rubbing feet against ones back and so on, but they do not indicate romance - they indicate the closeness that is not necessarily romantic and is not romantic as neither of the act perceivers perceive it as an romantic.

The romantic relationship is not there as it has no romantic perception. When there will be - then the relationship can be called romantic. It is not even confusing relationship for either of them, meaning that it really is what it is - a bond between two similar spirits. But it is not a romance.

Kaisos Erranon, I never said I am always right. If you cannot read my comments thoroughly then don't read them. I can do without your lame quoting of things I never said.

Vexx, the clues as I said is not from romantic perspective and not shed in a romantic light at all, they are all from the friendly/similar spirits perspective. I am sure that you would use such arguments as in rubbing feet against ones back and so on, but they do not indicate romance - they indicate the closeness that is not necessarily romantic and is not romantic as neither of the act perceivers perceive it as an romantic.

The romantic relationship is not there as it has no romantic perception. When there will be - then the relationship can be called romantic. It is not even confusing relationship for either of them, meaning that it really is what it is - a bond between two similar spirits. But it is not a romance.

Ah well... the specific examples you give exactly fit my definition of "romance" - actually a much truer deeper romance than the simple puppy love and hormone intoxication often portrayed in anime as "romance". The build up here would be to the "epiphany".

Ah well... the specific examples you give exactly fit my definition of "romance" - actually a much truer deeper romance than the simple puppy love and hormone intoxication often portrayed in anime as "romance". The build up here would be to the "epiphany".

I think what you're referring to is companionate love. I'm not quite certain what Darknemo2000 is upset about though. I don't believe that the type of love one is in has to remain the same, nor do I see a problem with it changing suddenly as long as it's believable. Thus friendship can change into companionate love and then into consummate love(romance being a part of this type) like it did in the anime Lovely Complex.

The romantic relationship is not there as it has no romantic perception. When there will be - then the relationship can be called romantic. It is not even confusing relationship for either of them, meaning that it really is what it is - a bond between two similar spirits. But it is not a romance.

...That's pretty much what romance is, especially when viewed from a female perspective.

And we all know that the original author is a woman.

I'd personally classify Toradora as shoujo rather than shonen/seinen, even with its male protagonist...

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanturkey

meh, a lot of people are saying that this show is going through "Give Taiga more screentime" Syndrome. which i agree with. There are better characters in this show than her..

And rather unfortunately for your viewpoint, Taiga is a title character and thus is going to draw a lot of the focus anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nvenya

I think what you're referring to is companionate love. I'm not quite certain what Darknemo2000 is upset about though. I don't believe that the type of love one is in has to remain the same, nor do I see a problem with it changing suddenly as long as it's believable. Thus friendship can change into companionate love and then into consummate love(romance being a part of this type) like it did in the anime Lovely Complex.

I've been puzzling over what word to use to describe Ami, and I've figured it out - perceptive. Maybe it's because of her dealings with adults through her job, but she's incredibly perceptive about the hidden meanings in situations - and about people's hidden weaknesses. Because she's more mature than her classmates but also very childlike and selfish at times, she uses her perceptiveness as a weapon. She's certainly a girl of many contradictions.

A really enjoyable episode and typical for this series. A little comedy, a little drama, and some action for good measure.

I really liked the "messages" in this eps. Particularly Sumire's point that even if you have one set of reasons for setting onto a journey, the reasons change during the journey. Deciding not to step forward because your original goal seems lost is wrong. There ultimately is more at stake if you look at it. It is worthwhile continuing and almost your duty once you have taken that first step.

I enjoyed Kitamura's guts to profess his love to Sumire on stage. She was just as brave not to cave in and instead make a statement to support "such an interesting guy" to the class. Sure it was a kind of cop out to avoid his question, but if most teenagers were in the situation, they would run and whine about how embarrassing that was. Turns out she wasn't just a cold and calculating tyrant as depicted earlier on, but a deep and caring person, helping Kitamura save face while hiding behind her own mask as we were soon to so dramatically see...

Taiga's insistence that Sumire take responsibility for emotionally injuring Kitamura was amazing. She loves him deeply enough to push the one he loves back toward him, even if it hurts her. Not only was she standing up to protect someone she cared for, she was making the statement that if she were going to lose, she should lose to someone who was worth losing to. Taiga has to move forward on her journey too. The ensuing fight was truly an epic anime moment. They didn't play it for super-deformed comedy that most shows would. They put in all of the blood, sweat and bruises that standing up for what you believe in gives you back. Yes, all of you pacifists and doubters out there, there are girls who will punch and pull hair over a guy, every bit as much as there are guys who will literally kill another man for similar reasons over a girl. I've seen it in suburban California, why not in Japan.

Sumire's counter to Taiga about supporting Kitamura by hiding her feelings so he wouldn't destroy his life by following her was a smart note too. She showed that she too loved him in return, but was sacrificing her own feelings for the greater good of both Kitamura's future as well as the school's potential loss of a good and caring leader.

Kitamura's acknowledgment that her message and reasons for loving and still holding back from him aren't going to go wasted was dramatic. He clearly (to me anyway) telegraphed that he accepted what care and love she might hold for him in the way she felt able, and he had learned his lesson to move forward despite the frustrations and pain that may lie ahead, because it is all in service of a greater future for them all.

Taiga's reaction was all pain. Stunning pain. So well illustrated by the animators. You could see the gears turning in her head realizing that she's both succeeded and failed in one brilliant moment. She brought the two together in her place and had lost all in one. To me that was also what Ami's comment to Minori, and her subsequent grimace and were all about. She, like Taiga, was pushing together two who love each other, even at risk of her own pain and loss. I could be wrong on that last one, but it was presented as such. A perfect bold underline of what had just happened.

A fascinating turn of events. If people think that this arc was a weak and pointless one, that's sad. In Taiga's, or anyone's life, going through these turns are such that lives and futures are altered inextricably. Paths diverge while bonds are strengthened in new ways not before seen.

I felt these were good lessons for the audience, because ultimately that's why they occur. It always amazes me how the real messages get lost on so many viewers. "So and so wouldn't really say that!" or, "Why would the writers put in something that just doesn't make sense?" Characters don't do and say these things for themselves, or to be more real within their world, but instead in service of the audience. They are speaking to US and telling us, DON'T make these mistakes without really looking at them from all sides and considering your own actions carefully. This is just a cartoon show. Your own life is REALITY. If we can put events and situations into high relief for you to not miss them in YOUR life, then maybe you will not suffer as these characters do...